News

News in and around Madison Valley

UPDATE: After a year's work in finding and training just the right groomers, Just Around The Corner dog grooming is NOW OPEN!

Finally, a dog groomer in Madison Valley!

I’ve been asking groomers across the city to open a location in Madison Valley for years, and now I’m happy to report that Just Around the Corner dog grooming will be located next door to All the Best Pets.

JATC offers a complete range of dog grooming services, including nail trims. The full range of services is available here: http://www.jatcgrooming.com

This will be the second location for JATC, their first is in Queen Anne. The Queen Anne location has 80 reviews, most of them 5 star.

The Board of Park Commissioners will hold a public hearing to receive feedback on the draft People, Dogs and Parks Strategic Plan. The meeting will take place at Miller Community Center on September 22, 2016 at 6:30 p.m.

The draft People, Dogs and Parks Strategic Plan is available here. The plan will guide the operations of existing off-leash areas, and provides strategies for development of future off-leash areas. It provides direction on how to spend Seattle Park District funding designated for existing off-leash areas over the six-year term of the Park District funding plan (2015-2020).

The Board of Park Commissioners will receive oral and written testimony, and will make a recommendation to the Parks and Recreation Superintendent based on the feedback they receive from the public.

Seattle currently has 14 fenced off-leash areas totaling 28 acres. The People, Dogs and Parks Plan offers recommendations on how to add new off-leash areas, and how to improve off-leash area conditions and user experience.

New off-leash areas may be added through new park development, existing park redevelopment and community requests, on park land or non-park public land. All new off-leash area proposals will be reviewed by a committee of dog- and environmental advocates, community members, animal behaviorists and Parks staff, who will make a recommendation to the Parks and Recreation Superintendent.

The Plan recommends that future off-leash areas be fenced, does not recommend allowing unleashed dogs on trails, and recommends against establishing more off-leash areas on beaches. User conflicts, limited enforcement and maintenance resources, and environmental concerns limit the capacity for adequate management of unleashed dogs in city parks outside of fenced off-leash areas.

The plan proposes the use of Seattle Park District funding to improve existing off-leash areas based on site assessments included in the plan, and to explore possibilities for partnerships and sponsorships to expand resources. It also proposes the creation of a license for dog walkers, and limiting the number of dogs in a dog-walker pack to three unless dog walkers complete an approved animal behavior training program.

Those who want to give input on the plan but are not able to come to the meetings can give written comments, which bear equal weight to verbal comments. Please email comments to rachel.acosta@seattle.gov.

Approved by voters in 2014, the Seattle Park District provides more than $47 million a year in long-term funding for Seattle Parks and Recreation including maintenance of parklands and facilities, operation of community centers and recreation programs, and development of new neighborhood parks on previously acquired sites. 2016 is the first full year of implementation and there is work going on in every corner of the city. This year includes funding to tackle the $267-million major maintenance backlog, and will fund the improvement and rehabilitation of community centers; preservation of urban forests; major maintenance at the Aquarium and Zoo; day-to-day maintenance of parks and facilities; more recreation opportunities for people from underserved communities, programs for young people, people with disabilities, and older adults; development of new parks; and acquisition of new park land.

The Seattle Board of Park Commissioners is a nine-member citizen board created by the City Charter. Four members are appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the City Council; four members are appointed by the City Council; and one member is a young adult appointed by YMCA Get Engaged. The Board generally meets twice a month, normally on the second and fourth Thursday, to advise the Parks and Recreation Superintendent, the Mayor and the City Council on parks and recreation matters.

Betty Chris Saites (5:02 pm Sep 19)A fenced "off-leash" dog park is badly needed in Madison Park.
If approved, this park needs to have a separate area for small dogs, which can be accidentally injured by the play of larger dogs.

Morna McEachern (7:41 pm Jul 16)Hi,
We live on E. Valley and have put our house on the market. We have been visited by Peaches quite a lot. Today our realtor had him land on her head and he would not leave her alone...got caught up in her hair, then tried to get in her car...a bit too much. Would you please keep him in on Sunday, July 17...while there is an open house...thank you very much!
Morna McEachern

I’ve been asking groomers across the city to open a location in Madison Valley for years, and now I’m happy to report that Just Around the Corner dog grooming will be located next door to All the Best Pets.

JATC offers a complete range of dog grooming services, including $8.00 nail trims. The full range of services is available here: http://www.jatcgrooming.com

This will be the second location for JATC, their first is in Queen Anne. The Queen Anne location has 80 reviews, most of them 5 star.

According to owner Amber Rogers, the Madison Valley location is scheduled to open before the end of the year. We’ll post their opening date as soon as we have it.

Well, Peaches has been found, safe — although he won’t be flying anytime soon. The story is a sad tale of mistaken identity and good intentions gone wrong, along with an interesting explanation of free flight bird training. Read the full story on Facebook or visit Peaches’ Facebook page.

A couple of weeks ago, I was sitting at my desk and from the window I saw a tropical bird land on the railing of our back porch. I immediately sent out an alert on NextDoor asking if someone had lost their pet bird.

Soon friends and neighbors responded informing me the bird is named Peaches. She lives one block over and apparently she frequently visits homes around the neighborhood. Peaches has returned most days, and we have gotten to know one another. She’s beautiful and smart. Having a neighborhood bird makes me smile. I love our neighborhood, its people, pets, and most recently the neighborhood cockatoo.

All The Best Pet Care and Nature’s Variety “Pound for Pound Challenge” supplies food for local animal shelters.

As Thanksgiving nears, pet lovers often want to share the holiday with their dogs and cats, so they stock up on healthy food and treats. This year, local pet parents have the opportunity to provide healthy food for local shelter animals at the same time, at no cost. For the entire month of November, any Nature’s Variety dog or cat food purchased at an All The Best Pet Care store will be matched, pound for pound, with a food donation to a local shelter. Additionally, those who purchase Nature’s Variety food to donate to a shelter will get their gift matched, pound for pound, essentially doubling their donation.

The food recipients will include Old Dog Haven, Cat Tales, Motley Zoo, Homeward Pet and PUPs.

“Last year, our Pound for Pound Challenge resulted in donations of more than 15,000 pounds of high-quality dog and cat food to our local shelters,” noted Susan Moss, owner of All The Best Pet Care.

Jenny Martin from Nature’s Variety said, “I’m really excited about this opportunity to make a huge impact on needy dogs and cats in our community. Together, we will provide the high-quality food shelter pets need to get off to a better start.”

Since 1985, All The Best Pet Care has offered healthy alternatives to the low quality, mass-marketed pet products. All The Best Pet Care has eleven stores located in the Seattle neighborhoods of Ballard, Crown Hill, Lake City, Madison Park and Queen Anne, and in Bellevue, Edmonds, Issaquah, Kenmore, Mercer Island, and Redmond. For more information, visit www.allthebestpetcare.com.

Jenny Martin from Nature’s Variety (left) and All The Best Pet Care owner Susan Moss are happy to see a full donation bin.

October 25–31, bring in your costumed dog or cat for a special Halloween treat and we’ll take a photo for our contest. One winner from every All The Best Pet Care store will receive a $25 All The Best gift card. Winners will be announced on Facebook Nov. 1.

Hank is just the most adorable shoplifter we've ever had! This lil' lab pup counter-surfed his way through our bully stick collection. With a face like that, though, who could ever say no?

Yoshi the pug has a promising career ahead of him as a swimwear model! He is ROCKING that life vest! Plus, he will be sea-worthy for all his summer adventures.

Lola is the sweetest Bengal cat who came by to be fitted for a harness! We were so excited for a feline visitor, finally! She was such an adventurer and looked absolutely stunning in her turquoise RC Pet harness!

Tallulah, the tiniest pugglet, lives right up the street from our store and often stops by to share snuggles, kisses, and the cutest puppy snorts you ever heard!

Here are this month's visitors to All The Best Pet Care. The first fellow is a regular, a bulldog named Tank, shown below testing the wool bed. Tank's a devout follower of the mantra “If it fits, it sits.”

The second is a first-time visitor who came dressed in his Jurassic best!

First let me start off by saying a big WOOF to all those who supported my proposal to acquire an off-leash area here in the Washington Park play field. Over a hundred locals signed the petition to let the City know that we want and need a place to exercise our four-legged friends.

Last month I received word from Leah Tivoli, Sustainable Operations Manager – Parks Division and she sent me the following: “after speaking to our Planning and Development Division about the possibility of using this site, I learned that this site is not acceptable for an off-leash area. In the event of a storm, the area may be flooded and in an extreme storm event the water would overflow out of this basin into the adjacent play field. If an OLA was built at this site, all the material would flood and contaminate the adjacent ball field.”

After breaking the sad news to my pug Ruby, we both realized that there are still other potential sites that may allow an OLA either in Madison Valley or Madison Park. However, we will need someone else to take the leash on this.

If you feel that there may be an area in your neck of the woods, I strongly encourage you to contact the President of C.O.L.A (Citizens for Off Leash Areas), Patrick Jones. He has worked in establishing many wonderful off-leash parks throughout Seattle and has an in-depth knowledge of the entire process from start to finish. He will gladly work with you and inform you of how to get the tennis ball rolling for a possible new off-leash park in your neighborhood. Patrick’s info is: 206-913-7261 or patrickjones321@gmail.com.

Thank you all very much for the support and interest you have shown to ensure our furry friends are happy, healthy, socialized and well exercised — it may not have worked out for this area, but may work out in yours.

Have a dog gone great day!

Richard Winsler {and Ruby too}

Richard has been a resident in Madison Valley since 2000. He owns and operates his own dog business: check him and his pooches out on Facebook at: Catch Me If You Can - Dog Outings.

The puppy in the first photo is so new that he didn’t even have a name yet. This adorable schnoodle puppy is in training to become a service dog and needed a rain jacket for the wet weather.

The second photo is of Domino, a basenji/shiba inu mix who was a bit shy about taking treats, but loved posing for the camera! Domino is the sister of one of our team member’s dogs. They came from the same litter three years ago. The sibling dogs look almost identical and it was so fun to have her visit!

As you can see this month was all about the puppies and kittens. Warning…these are dangerously cute!

Milo is an 8-week-old Weimaraner who just moved to the neighborhood and was thrilled to find out she lives just around the corner from us!

This tiny Pug/French Bulldog is Ruby. She is about 10 weeks old, and as you can see her new owners could not be more in love. Being smaller than a pig's ear, no sweaters fit her, so her mom cut a few holes in an old sock to make do. Needless to say the effect is adorable.

The adorable long hair Maine Coon mix kitten is Rupert, and he had a blast playing on our cat trees while his dad shopped for food.

All The Best Pet Care is doubling its customers’ donations and purchases during December in a campaign to deliver 20,000 lb of food to local shelters and rescue groups.

Holiday giving requests are plentiful during the holiday season, and most people are looking for ways to make sure their donation dollars are used wisely. Those who wish to help local animal shelters and rescues can double their donation at All The Best Pet Care. For the entire month of December, any Nature’s Variety dog or cat food purchased for donating at an All The Best Pet Care store will be matched, pound for pound. Customers who buy Nature’s Variety products for their own cats and dogs will have a matching amount donated as well. To stretch givers’ budgets even further, all Nature’s Variety dry food, freeze dried food, canned food and treats, including Instinct and Prairie, are 10% off all month.

“Our goal is to donate 20,000 pounds of high quality, human-grade cat and dog food to our many deserving animal shelters and rescue groups, which is about equal to a $50,000 donation,” said Susan Moss, owner of All The Best Pet Care.

Jenny Martin from Nature’s Variety said, “I’m really excited about this opportunity to make a huge impact on needy dogs and cats in our community. Together, we will provide the high-quality food these animals need to be healthy.”

Since 1985, All The Best Pet Care has offered healthy alternatives to low the quality, mass-marketed pet products that are so ubiquitous. They have ten stores located in the Seattle neighborhoods of Ballard, Crown Hill, Lake City, Madison Park and Queen Anne, and in Bellevue, Edmonds, Issaquah, Mercer Island, and Redmond. For more information, visit www.allthebestpetcare.com.